How Local Communities can Address Issues of Disability
| Dr Sev Ozdowski OAM, Acting Disability Discrimination Commissioner Workshop session |
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Introduction
In my presentation today I want to focus on the Commission's work with Local Government and the effect the Disability Discrimination Act has had on how they go about their business.
In particular I want to look at how many Local Government authorities
have taken the initiative to create change using the objectives of the
DDA as a foundation on which to build more inclusive communities.
I also want to give a little more information on the Access to Premises
Standard I discussed at yesterdays plenary session and make some suggestions
about Local Government participation in the upcoming public consultation
period.
Promoting awareness and compliance
Apart from the responsibility to receive and attempt to conciliate complaints of discrimination the Commission has a number of other functions including:
- To promote an understanding and acceptance of, and compliance with the DDA
- To undertake research and education programs designed to promote the objects of the DDA, and
- To prepare material such as guidelines to assist individuals and organisations to avoid discriminating
I and my predecessors have had to make decisions about how to use the limited resources available to us to address these responsibilities.
In the first couple of years of the DDA a substantial part of the Commission's work and budget was dedicated to a community information and education campaign.
This was aimed at people with a disability and at organisations with responsibilities under the legislation and was clearly a necessary priority in the early years of the DDA.
Over the years the Commission has continued to promote awareness and compliance through participation in many formal and informal educational events, conferences, public forums, workshops and consultations.
In addition, there is significant community education and awareness activity on rights and responsibilities undertaken by disability community groups, State and Territory anti-discrimination bodies, industry and government organisations and in particular through the network of Disability Discrimination Legal Services.
A shift in focus
The focus has, however, shifted from education and awareness to participating very practically in identifying solutions to the many barriers to participation people with disabilities experience.
This shift reflects my view that while attitudinal change is an important aspect of achieving the objectives of the DDA equal weight must be given to making practical changes that ensure people with disabilities can actually participate in all aspects of our community.
If people with disabilities
- cannot get on a bus to go to work;
- cannot exercise their responsibilities as citizens because the polling booth is inaccessible;
- cannot access information about cultural and sporting events because it is only available in print;
- cannot attend the local school because there is no accessible toilet
the chances of community attitudinal change are much reduced.
I fully accept that there is a big difference between being 'present' in the community and being a 'part' of the community.
However, if people with disabilities cannot even be present there is little likelihood of real attitudinal change towards a more welcoming and inclusive community.
Finding solutions
Our priority over the past few years has been to participate in processes that deliver practical meaning to the objects of the DDA.
The Commission has
- produced advisory notes or guidelines in a number of areas covered by the DDA: access to premises, insurance, public transport, and world wide web access
- worked intensively on the development of Disability Standards on public transport, employment, education and access to premises, and
- undertaken public inquiries resulting in outcomes such as a national captioned cinema program, significantly improved TV captioning and a range of electronic banking industry standards.
In a sense our participating in this very practical work means that we can contribute to finding solutions to equip local communities with the tools to do the right thing.
Working with Local Government
The Commission has had close relationships with Local Government from the very early days of the DDA and considerable effort has been put into providing information and guidance at a local and national level.
Perhaps the greatest assistance has been in the area of Action Plans and on matters to do with access to the built environment.
In 1994/5 the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) established a project to develop a number of guides and best practice manuals to assist local government to prepare Action Plans under the DDA.
The preparation and implementation of Action Plans provides local government with an opportunity to:
- identify barriers that exist in their own services, and
- develop strategies to eliminate them over a period of time.
The existence of the DDA and the provision for the development of Action Plans has been used by Local Government staff, Councillors and community members as a foundation on which to build creative and well planned strategies.
I and my staff have lost track of the number of times people associated with Local Government have told us how they have used the DDA to create new agendas within their organisations.
Among the earliest Action Plans submitted to the Commission in 1996 were those from Rockdale and Fairfield in NSW, Kingborough in Tasmania, Canning in WA and Redland here in Queensland.
Some Action Plans have been developed in response to complaints against Councils as part of a conciliated agreement.
Most, however, have been developed by Local Governments who have seen them as an opportunity to systematically address one of their core goals - that of ensuring an inclusive community where people with disabilities can participate on equal terms.
Examples of achievements
There is no better example of an initiative to encourage and support Local Governments in the development of Action Plans than the work of the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV), with the support of the Victorian Government Department of Human Services.
MAV has been running a number of `Accessible Communities' projects and one of the consequences is that nearly 60% of Local Government authorities currently have an Action Plan.
By late 2003 it is expected that 85% will have developed one.
This really is a very important achievement - not just because of the inevitable increased accessibility of local government, but also because of the community debate and awareness that has been stimulated throughout the process of developing them.
Among the factors identified by MAV as contributing to progress are:
- Increasing awareness in the community of the Disability Discrimination Act and an increasing willingness of people affected by disability to lobby local councils.
- Greater understanding that as the current generation ages it will have higher expectations of councils with respect to accessibility than previous generations, and
- General trend towards recognising and valuing diversity in local communities
Individual initiatives
On a smaller scale, but no less important, are the initiatives from many individual Local Government authorities who have found ways to address disability issues through the development of specific education and awareness material or by integrating disability issues into mainstream projects.
For example, I was very happy recently to be able to participate in the launching of a package, Enabling Access: Disability Discrimination Awareness Training for Local Government.
This package was developed jointly by the five largest councils in South Australia: Salisbury, Charles Sturt, Marion, Onkaparinga and Tea Tree Gully with support from the Local Government Association.
This package will be very valuable in increasing awareness of disability issues, and in promoting appropriate action based on that awareness.
Finally just one more example, that of Marrickville Council in NSW.
Marrickville Council has established a unique Social Capital Committee to look at ways of strengthening community ties and connections, invigorating community life and harnessing the interest of citizens in building their community.
Among the projects being undertaken is a "belonging" project to strengthen connections between citizens.
The 'Belonging in Marrickville' project aims to:
- document the experience of belonging in the Marrickville local government area;
- identify the community's vision for the future;
- increase social cohesion through developing a 'sense of belonging' in the area; and
- broaden knowledge of attitudes and feelings about community safety.
More recently the belonging project has seen the establishment of a 'Community Leadership for belonging' program. Together with the assistance of the Centre for Popular Education at the University of Technology Sydney, the program engages local residents.
Both established and emerging leaders are assisted with the skills to work with their own communities and form partnerships with others to improve life in the local area.
Considerable effort is being made by Marrickville in this and other projects to ensure that people with disabilities contribute to and benefit from this work.
There are many other initiatives taking place throughout Australia and it would be of great value I think if they could be collected together and recorded on a web site for others to learn from.
An accessible built environment
The second very practical area the Commission has been involved in with Local Government is that of access to the built environment.
As you will be aware, there are inconsistencies between the current access provisions of the Building Code of Australia (BCA) and the requirements of the DDA.
These inconsistencies mean that when developers receive approvals from local government to build, they cannot be sure they are meeting their responsibilities under the DDA.
As a consequence, Local Government has been placed in a difficult position, because in some circumstances, Local Government may be subject to a complaint if they give approval to a development that is later subject to a successful DDA complaint.
Many Local Government authorities have acted on the advice given by the Commission to develop policies and procedures to manage this difficult situation. This has led to significant improvements in new building access and has minimised the chances of complaints against those local governments.
The good news is that the Australian Building Codes Board committee responsible for the drafting work on a DDA Access to Premises Standard is close to completing its work, and we expect to have a draft released before the end of this year.
A formal public comment period will take place for three months from February next year.
In preparation for the public comment period on the proposed Premises Standard Local Government may wish to consider:
1. Ensuring your community is aware of the timetable for the public comment
period.
2. Ensuring resources are allocated in your organisations work plan to
consider the proposals.
3. Running a series or articles and updates in your newsletters, association
magazines and webpages in the build up to the public comment period.
4. Identifying a small group of people in co-operation with other authorities
to focus on this issue. For example, a Local Government Association might
consider establishing a small expert group to identify issues of concern
to its members and co-ordinate a response.
The Premises Standard will effectively adopt a revised BCA, and thereby give surety to Local Government, developers and people with disabilities.
Once we have the Premises Standard, Local Government will have a vital role to play in making it work, by ensuring all new buildings and new building work meets the required level of access.
The adoption of the Premises Standard will be a time for extensive education and information programs for designers, developers and approval bodies such as Local Government.
Let me conclude by saying that the Commission very much sees itself as part of the "solution" to the difficulties experienced by local communities trying to create an inclusive and sustainable community and we will continue to work alongside Local Governments to find ways of doing it better.
Can I finish by recommending you regularly look at the Commissions web page for updates and further information on all the issues I have discussed today. www.humanrights.gov.au
